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Facts
The assessee was penalized under Section 272A(1)(d) for non-compliance with notices during assessment proceedings for four assessment years (2017-18 to 2020-21), which was upheld by the CIT(A). The assessee argued that the penalties were levied after the completion of assessment proceedings and that his mother's illness constituted a reasonable cause for the non-compliance.
Held
The Tribunal held that penalties under Section 272A(1)(d) must be levied during assessment proceedings. As the Assessing Officer levied the penalties after completing the assessment orders, this implied condonation of non-compliance. The Tribunal also accepted the assessee's reasonable cause for non-compliance, citing his aged mother's illness.
Key Issues
The key issues were the validity of penalties levied under Section 272A(1)(d) after the completion of assessment proceedings and whether the assessee's mother's illness constituted a reasonable cause for non-compliance.
Sections Cited
Section 272A(1)(d)
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Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL,
Before: BEFORE SHRI GEORGE MATHANMANISH AGARWAL
Gopal Gopal Pillai Pillai Sreekumar, Sreekumar, Vs. Income Tax Officer, Central Income Tax Officer, Central Sooranad, Kollam, Kerala Sooranad, Kollam, Kerala- Circle-2, Bhubaneswar 2, Bhubaneswar 690522 PAN/GIR No. No.AKMPS 1435 P (Appellant (Appellant) .. ( Respondent Respondent) Assessee by : Shri Subit Kumar Sahu, Adv Revenue by : Shri S.C.Mohanty, Sr DR : Shri S.C.Mohanty, Sr DR Date of Hearing : 28/01/20 2025 Date of Pronouncement : 28/01/20 025 O R D E R Per Bench These are These are appeals filed by the assessee against the filed by the assessee against the separate orders of the ld CIT(A), Bhubaneswar of the ld CIT(A), Bhubaneswar-2, all dated 13.11.2024 13.11.2024 confirming the penalty levied u/s.272A(1)(d) of the Act of Rs.10,000/ penalty levied u/s.272A(1)(d) of the Act of Rs.10,000/- each for the assessment year essment years 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively 21, respectively.
Shri Subit Kumar Sahu Subit Kumar Sahu, ld AR appeared for the assessee and Shri the assessee and Shri S.C.Mohanty, Sr. Sr. DR appeared for the revenue.
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Ld AR drew our attention to the respective assessment orders and penalty orders, which have been passed under:
Asst.Year Assessment order dt. Penalty order dt. 2017-18 25.9.2021 17.3.2022 2018-19 25.9.2021 17.3.2022 2019-20 25.9.2021 17.3.2022 2020-21 29.9.2021 30.3.2022 It was the submission that the penalty orders have been passed by the Assessing Officer much after the assessment orders have been passed. It was the submission that penalty u/s.272A(1)(d) of the Act was to be levied for non-compliance of notices issued in the course of assessment proceedings and this penalty has been levied after the completion of the assessment proceedings.
In reply, ld Sr DR vehemently supported the levy of penalty. It was the submission that the penalty is levied due to non-compliance of notices and, therefore, the levy of penalty should be confirmed.
In reply, ld AR submitted that the assessee had filed written submissions explaining the reasons for non-compliance of the impugned notices during the assessment proceedings owing to illness of his aged mother suffering from mental retardation coupled with psychotic falsie for which, the assessee was compelled to stay out of station and could not P a g e 2 | 4 comply with the notices issued by the Assessing Officer. It was the submission that the penalty may be cancelled.
We have considered the rival submissions. A perusal of the provisions of Section 272A(1)(d) of the Act shows that the penalty is to be levied for non-compliance of notices in the course of assessment proceedings. In the present case, the penalty admittedly is levied by the Assessing Officer after completion of the assessment proceedings. This clearly shows that the Assessing Officer on his own action had condoned the non-compliance of notices when he passed the assessment order. Even the assessee has shown reasonable cause for non-compliance of notices issued by the Assessing Officer owing to the illness of his mother. This being so, the penalty as levied by the Assessing Officer and confirmed by the ld CIT(A) u/s.272A(1)(d) of the Act stands deleted for the above four assessment years.
In the result, appeals of the assessee stand allowed.
Order dictated and pronounced in the open court on 28/01/2025.